Most Popular Books by Martin Luther King

First in a series of 14 volumes, this book contains the complete texts of King''s letters, speeches, sermons, student papers, and other articles. The papers range chronologically from his childhood to his young manhood. An introductory biographical essay presents a broad picture of the events that the documents themselves cover, while extensive annotations of the documents deal with specific details of King''s life during these years. The passion that drove him is observable in nearly every document. ISBN 0-520-07950-7:

Selections from Dr. King''s speeches and writings illustrating his vision, his passion, and his faith.

Meditations and prayers of Martin Luther King, written 10 years before the civil rights leader was assassinated

"We''ve got some difficult days ahead," civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., told a crowd gathered at Memphis''s Clayborn Temple on April 3, 1968. "But it really doesn''t matter to me now because I''ve been to the mountaintop. . . . And I''ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land." These prohetic words, uttered the day before his assassination, challenged those he left behind to see that his "promised land" of racial equality became a reality; a reality to which King devoted the last twelve years of his life. These words and other are commemorated here in the only major one-volume collection of this seminal twentieth-century American prophet''s writings, speeches, interviews, and autobiographical reflections. A Testament of Hope contains Martin Luther King, Jr.''s essential thoughts on nonviolence, social policy, integration, black nationalism, the ethics of love and hope, and more.

Now available in paperback, here is Dr. Martin Luther King''s iconic speech, which defined the American civil rights movement, illustrated by a Caldecott Medal-winning, New York Times-bestselling illustrator. On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Martin Luther King gave one of the most powerful speeches in our nation''s history. His words, paired with Caldecott Honor winner Kadir Nelson''s magificent paintings, make for a picture book certain to be treasured by children and adults alike. The themes of equality and freedom for all are not only relevant today, 60 years later, but also provide young readers with an important introduction to our nation''s past.

Volume 5 of the planned 14 volume series, brings us to a pivotal moment in the career of Dr King. After a visit to India in 1959 he revitalised the Southern Christian Leadership Conference & propelled himself to a leading role in the renewed activism of 1960.

This fourth volume in the highly-praised edition of the Papers of Martin Luther King covers the period (1957-58) when King, fresh from his leadership of the Montgomery bus boycott, consolidated his position as leader of the civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King’s classic exploration of the events and forces behind the Civil Rights Movement—including his Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963. “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.” In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, was perhaps the most racially segregated city in the United States. The campaign launched by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights movement on the segregated streets of Birmingham demonstrated to the world the power of nonviolent direct action. In this remarkable book—winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—Dr. King recounts the story of Birmingham in vivid detail, tracing the history of the struggle for civil rights back to its beginnings three centuries ago and looking to the future, assessing the work to be done beyond Birmingham to bring about full equality for African Americans. Above all, Dr. King offers an eloquent and penetrating analysis of the events and pressures that propelled the Civil Rights movement from lunch counter sit-ins and prayer marches to the forefront of American consciousness. Since its publication in the 1960s, Why We Can’t Wait has become an indisputable classic. Now, more than ever, it is an enduring testament to the wise and courageous vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. Includes photographs and an Afterword by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

A revealing collection that restores Dr. King as being every bit as radical as Malcolm X "The radical King was a democratic socialist who sided with poor and working people in the class struggle taking place in capitalist societies. . . . The response of the radical King to our catastrophic moment can be put in one word: revolution--a revolution in our priorities, a reevaluation of our values, a reinvigoration of our public life, and a fundamental transformation of our way of thinking and living that promotes a transfer of power from oligarchs and plutocrats to everyday people and ordinary citizens. . . . Could it be that we know so little of the radical King because such courage defies our market-driven world?" --Cornel West, from the Introduction Every year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is celebrated as one of the greatest orators in US history, an ambassador for nonviolence who became perhaps the most recognizable leader of the civil rights movement. But after more than forty years, few people appreciate how truly radical he was. Arranged thematically in four parts, The Radical King includes twenty-three selections, curated and introduced by Dr. Cornel West, that illustrate King''s revolutionary vision, underscoring his identification with the poor, his unapologetic opposition to the Vietnam War, and his crusade against global imperialism. As West writes, "Although much of America did not know the radical King--and too few know today--the FBI and US government did. They called him ''the most dangerous man in America.'' . . . This book unearths a radical King that we can no longer sanitize."

MLK’s classic account of the first successful large-scale act of nonviolent resistance in America: the Montgomery bus boycott. A young Dr. King wrote Stride Toward Freedom just 2 years after the successful completion of the boycott. In his memoir about the event, he tells the stories that informed his radical political thinking before, during, and after the boycott—from first witnessing economic injustice as a teenager and watching his parents experience discrimination to his decision to begin working with the NAACP. Throughout, he demonstrates how activism and leadership can come from any experience at any age. Comprehensive and intimate, Stride Toward Freedom emphasizes the collective nature of the movement and includes King’s experiences learning from other activists working on the boycott, including Mrs. Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin. It traces the phenomenal journey of a community and shows how the 28-year-old Dr. King, with his conviction for equality and nonviolence, helped transform the nation and the world.

Quotations by the civil rights leader cover such issues as race, justice, and human dignity

The first collection of King’s essential writings for high school students and young people A Time to Break Silence presents Martin Luther King, Jr.''s most important writings and speeches—carefully selected by teachers across a variety of disciplines—in an accessible and user-friendly volume. Now, for the first time, teachers and students will be able to access Dr. King''s writings not only electronically but in stand-alone book form. Arranged thematically in five parts, the collection includes nineteen selections and is introduced by award-winning author Walter Dean Myers. Included are some of Dr. King’s most well-known and frequently taught classic works, including “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream,” as well as lesser-known pieces such as “The Sword that Heals” and “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” that speak to issues young people face today.

The classic collection of Dr. King’s sermons that fuse his Christian teachings with his radical ideas of love and nonviolence as a means to combat hate and oppression. As Martin Luther King, Jr., prepared for the Birmingham campaign in early 1963, he drafted the final sermons for Strength to Love, a volume of his most well known homilies. King had begun working on the sermons during a fortnight in jail in July 1962. While behind bars, he spent uninterrupted time preparing the drafts for works such as “Loving Your Enemies” and “Shattered Dreams,” and he continued to edit the volume after his release. Strength to Love includes these classic sermons selected by Dr. King. Collectively they present King’s fusion of Christian teachings and social consciousness and promote his prescient vision of love as a social and political force for change.

An unprecedented and timely collection of Dr. King’s speeches on labor rights and economic justice People forget that Dr. King was every bit as committed to economic justice as he was to ending racial segregation. He fought throughout his life to connect the labor and civil rights movements, envisioning them as twin pillars for social reform. As we struggle with massive unemployment, a staggering racial wealth gap, and the near collapse of a financial system that puts profits before people, King’s prophetic writings and speeches underscore his relevance for today. They help us imagine King anew: as a human rights leader whose commitment to unions and an end to poverty was a crucial part of his civil rights agenda. Covering all the civil rights movement highlights—Montgomery, Albany, Birmingham, Selma, Chicago, and Memphis—award-winning historian Michael K. Honey introduces and traces King’s dream of economic equality. Gathered in one volume for the first time, the majority of these speeches will be new to most readers. The collection begins with King’s lectures to unions in the 1960s and includes his addresses during his Poor People’s Campaign, culminating with his momentous “Mountaintop” speech, delivered in support of striking black sanitation workers in Memphis. Unprecedented and timely, “All Labor Has Dignity” will more fully restore our understanding of King’s lasting vision of economic justice, bringing his demand for equality right into the present.

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., isolated himself from the demands of the civil rights movement, rented a house in Jamaica with no telephone, and labored over his final manuscript. In this prophetic work, which has been unavailable for more than ten years, he lays out his thoughts, plans, and dreams for America''s future, including the need for better jobs, higher wages, decent housing, and quality education. With a universal message of hope that continues to resonate, King demanded an end to global suffering, asserting that humankind-for the first time-has the resources and technology to eradicate poverty.

In November and December 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered five lectures for the renowned Massey Lecture Series of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The collection was immediately released as a book under the title Conscience for Change, but after King’s assassination in 1968, it was republished as The Trumpet of Conscience. The collection sums up his lasting creed and is his final testament on racism, poverty, and war. Each oration in this volume encompasses a distinct theme and speaks prophetically to today’s perils, addressing issues of equality, conscience and war, the mobilization of young people, and nonviolence. Collectively, they reveal some of King’s most introspective reflections and final impressions of the movement while illustrating how he never lost sight of our shared goals for justice. The book concludes with “A Christmas Sermon on Peace”—a powerful lecture that was broadcast live from Ebenezer Baptist Church on Christmas Eve in 1967. In it King articulates his long-term vision of nonviolence as a path to world peace.

Martin Luther King, Jr., had hoped to be a Baptist preacher in a Southern city. Instead, by the time he was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39, he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and had led millions of people in a nonviolent movement that shattered forever the Southern system of segregation of the races. His eloquent, passionate advocacy of civil and human rights, rooted in the techniques of peaceful demonstration pioneered by Mahatma Gandhi, brought a new dimension of dignity to people''s lives and a new hope for freedom and the community of man. Throughout his brief life, his words communicated his vision, his passion, and his faith, and they demonstrated his gift to inspire others to follow his lead. He asked to be remembered as a "drum major for justice," and he is. Created as a living memorial to the philosophies and ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this essential volume includes more than 120 quotations from the greatest civil rights leader''s speeches, sermons, and writings, along with 16 historical photographs. Selected and introduced by Coretta Scott King, this book helps keep the dream alive by focusing on seven areas of his concern: the community of man, racism,civil rights, justice and freedom, faith and religion, nonviolence, and peace. The message these words convey is as inspiring and fundamental to life today as it ever was during his lifetime. As Dr. King said, "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. . . .This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action."

"HIS LIFE INFORMED US, HIS DREAMS SUSTAIN US" -from the Citation of the posthumous award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., July 4,1977 Martin Luther King''s twenty most memorable writings and s

A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King''s last speech "I''ve Been to the Mountaintop," part of Dr. King''s archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the pulpit of Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, and delivered what would be his final speech. Voiced in support of the Memphis Sanitation Worker’s Strike, Dr. King''s words continue to be powerful and relevant as workers continue to organize, unionize, and strike across various industries today. Withstanding the test of time, this speech serves as a galvanizing call to create and maintain unity among all people. This beautifully designed hardcover edition presents Dr. King’s speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality.

A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King''s speech "Our God Is Marching On,” part of Dr. King''s archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. At the end of the march from Selma to Montgomery on March 25, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of a crowd and celebrated the demanding work and effort that had been done by all in the fight against racial injustice for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In this speech, Dr. King testified that this march, for justice had been long and difficult and would continue to be so as those with him resisted the call of normalcy in the name of Jim Crow. “Our God Is Marching On” showcases a message of determination, faith, and the unyielding pursuit of equality while remaining committed to nonviolence. This beautifully designed hardcover edition presents Dr. King’s speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality.

Initiated by The King Center in association with Standford University.